Colonial Despatches

Among the Acts passed by the Legislature of Vancouver Island in 1864, which accompanied your Despatch No. 93 of the 22nd of November I have received Cap: XVIII entitled "An Act to authorized the Harewood Railway Company (Limited) to make a Railway from Departure Bay, Nanaimo District, to the"Harewood Harewood Coal fields in Mountain District Vancouver Island."

I take it for granted that the first Clause of this Act is not intended to give to the Company any compulsory powers, but only that it shall have the legal capacity to hold such lands as are required for it's purpose: on this assumption the clause is unobjectionable; the 2nd and 3rd clauses however are very imperfect as they impose certain conditions on the Company without imposing any penalty or inconvenience upon them in case they should neglect these conditions.

Although I have advised Her Majesty to leave this Act to it's operation, yet I do not consider that it has been prepared in the Colony with sufficient care. It is very necessary that the proper Officer of the Government should exercise so much control over enactment of this kind as to prevent their being passed in a manifestly defective shape.